To celebrate the release of her new studio effort lately I feel EVERYTHING, Willow Smith has debuted Willow In Concert, a 50-minute film that sees the emerging pop-punk powerhouse perform tracks from her new album and chart her musical journey over the past 18 months.
Joined by electric guitar sensation Lari Basilio, Smith serves up rip-roaring live renditions of a string of new tracks including Gaslight, Lipstick and don’t SAVE ME, and calls upon drumming icon Travis Barker for a blistering performance of their co-written track, Transparent Soul.
In the almost-one-hour extravaganza viewers are treated to an abundance of mesmerizing guitar parts courtesy of Basilio, her trusty Ibanez LB1, and her immaculate approach to phrasing and improvisation.
Smith also flexes her incredibly impressive six-string powers – and her eye-catching Ernie Ball Music Man St. Vincent model – by way of some tasty lead lines and pop-punk powerchord passages.
There is, however, one part of the film that stands out above the rest. That is, of course, the grand finale performance that sees Willow Smith shave her hair off live on stage while Lari Basilio sets her fretboard ablaze.
The performative fireworks erupted during the closing stages of a super-charged version of Smith’s seminal smash hit Whip My Hair, with Basilio letting loose on a string of lightning-fast fretboard runs and tasty wailing bends while Smith rips through some chords – and has her hair shaved.
You can watch the entire performance in the video above, with the hair-shaving antics beginning around the 47-minute mark.
“I’m thinking of shaving my head during the Whip My Hair performance,” said Smith of the symbolic stunt. “This is going to be my third time in my life shaving my head.
“I’m always shaving my head at monumental times in my life when things are really changing,” she continued. “This is definitely one of those moments.”
Other highlights from the video include a stripped-back performance of Rise, in which Smith demonstrates her oh-so impressive fingerpicking skills on a sunburst Taylor acoustic guitar, and a blistering performance of Grow, featuring Travis Barker and Avril Lavigne.
